Discussion: Why didn't they save Mami?

So! When watching the anime, it occurred to me...why didn't Madoka or Sayaka make a contract with Kyubey to bring Mami back to life? I know they were probably going for the too stunned and surprised to say or do anything aspect, plus it adds a lot to the anime to have a main character die xD But like...earlier in the episode Madoka was saying she didn't know what she wanted to be and that she admired Mami...but then why not use a wish to save her?

It confuses me a little bit and this could turn into a debate I suppose xD I get that they had other plans for Sayaka and Madoka for later in the anime, but it didn't even occur to them to maybe wish her to come back to life? I could understand if they didn't know they could save someone from death, but Mami had told them she made a contract to avoid dying in the car crash and Kyubey told them to hurry and make a wish with him before it's too late for Mami xD So I'm just curious what you guys all think about it! Let me know <3

Well, as much as I didn't like that Mami died, I think the answer is simple: they didn't know her. They didn't have a personal relationship with her. Perhaps a bit controversial, but you probably wouldn't go and save someone you don't know. Especially when it comes to a wish where you could have anything you want in the world, you know? A bit selfish yes but realistic.

This might be true, as they didn't know her too well when her death actually occurred, but if that's the case they sure acted like they knew her for years when she died. The next few episodes was about them being depressed over her death: I assume because she died in such a tragic way and they're scared to become magical girls, but they also seemed genuinely depressed that she as a person died. And earlier in the episode Madoka said she looked up to Mami and said she wanted to be like her but didn't know what to wish for and they joked about wishing for a huge cake xD So it just seems like saving someone's life that you have grown to care for, even if in a short time, would be a decent wish to make, considering some of the wishes that other girl's had made in the past.

I think they were just in shock. You know how sometimes when you can't believe that something's happening, it's hard to act quickly? I know I personally tend to freeze up in overwhelming situations.

I assume that's what they were going for and the main reason why they didn't become a magical girl just to save her, because they were too shocked to do anything xD It's just an interesting topic to discuss and see what people's opinions are xD

Rose Quartz wrote:

Perhaps a bit controversial, but you probably wouldn't go and save someone you don't know. Especially when it comes to a wish where you could have anything you want in the world, you know? A bit selfish yes but realistic.

What's more, in that moment it became clear that being a magical girl is not the shiny happy thing they thought. The question became "Would you give up your life and die a gruesome early death for someone you hardly know?" instead of an innocent "Would you use your only omnipotent wish for someone you hardly know?"

I think Mami's death was very educational and Homura couldn't even have wished for anything better to scare Madoka away from making a contract - except for the whole truth but that would bee too much for her to believe.

So she could have even sacrificed Mami to convince Madoka - but even if she tried in a timeline her conscience would kill her for sure. In the anime timeline it was out of question anyway because Mami tied her up efficiently.

But above all, Madoka and Sayaka was completely shocked in that moment, they couldn't even move.

I wonder though, if they *had* wished for it, would Kyubey have been able to fulfill that wish? I mean, ultimately, it seems he can fulfill any wish (Madoka did become a god, after all xD) but at the same time, we know that the soul gem has to stay in tact for the magical girls to survive, and Mami's soul gem was crushed along with the rest of her head. So would Kyubey have been able to bring back a person from the dead to begin with? I have this odd image of Madoka wishing for this, and then Kyubey presenting her with Mami's yellow soul gem xD He doesn't bring back the body because, to him, the soul gem is all there is of Mami in the first place.

It's sad to me to think that, if Mami had been chomped on any other part of her body, chances are she would have survived (going by what Kyubey says later on in the series), but it was because it was her head, and because her soul gem is positioned on her head that she died at all.

I don't think it would be a problem. Kyubry said that what wish he can fulfill depends on the contractee's potential or something similar. So I just can't think any reason why Madoka couldn't wish Mami back to life.

Another (counter?)example: Homura's wish brought Madoka back. In a way, but not really. She went back to the hospital and continued on a different world line. And again. And again. She littered the multiverse with dead magical girls and Earths in ruins as she kept hopping from world to world she created in the process...

-> Bringing back a mere soul gem after a badly worded wish is a, umm, nice possibility :D What could happen then? Presenting it to a largely consumed body would probably result in Mami trying to regenerate her body and possibly using up too much magic -> Madoka would have to fight Candeloro as her first witch. If she survives the shock of realization.

Or, Mami could try to find a host body. I suspect that more or less every magical girl has the ability to hijack other bodies if she distanced from her own. This is how my TRAOD Homura is a "reverse selkie" and how a certain queen can live for centuries, hopping from vessel to vessel.

Another interesting question is the limits of a MG's regeneration. It may vary and Sayaka must be very good at it. I think she can even re-grow lost body parts or repair her body even from a chunk of leftover meat. Just the way Kyubey said. The others who didn't wish to heal someone may be more limited.

In Rumiberri's Cat's cradle Homura is especially bad at it (being hindered by her other magic that manifests in cat ears and tail) and has to use multiple grief seeds just to fully recover a minor fracture.

But normally this ability seems to be somewhat limited. "It should have sent you in hospital for months.", as Kyouko says and she's well aware that her opponent Sayaka is a magical girl. In Oriko Magica Kyouko lost her limbs and she thinks she's done for. It takes another natural healer (Yuma) to recover her.

So I guess lost body parts are very costly and probably need a lot of magic a girl can't afford if she doesn't have spare grief seeds.

In Mami's case it means Madoka and/or Sayaka would have to defeat Charlotte first then take Mami's soul gem to her body and use healing magic to support Mami's own ability and use the grief seed to cleanse the darkest soul when Mami's able to walk again.

Or, Mami could try to take over Madoka's or Sayaka's body and fight the witch :D

Continuing on the premise of Madoka using her wish to bring Mami back and Mami's soul gem was revived without the body, if she had done it after Sayaka had already become a magical girl and before she turned into a witch, she could have likely healed Mami up if Mami wasn't able to do it herself (and it is implied that only those with healing/regeneration powers are able to do it easily). Of course, that would be assuming Sayaka's powers include being able to heal others as well as herself, but I can't see any reason why she wouldn't, considering her wish was to heal Kyosuke's arm. But that brings up the question of if any of Mami's body would have been left to heal by that point... and obviously, if Madoka had used her wish right after Mami had died, Sayaka wouldn't have been able to heal Mami, since she wasn't a magical girl yet.

However, this is all assuming Kyubey would indeed only bring Mami back as a soul gem. Kyubey's process of breaking the girls' spirits in order to turn them into witches usually involves making it look like they can truly bring hope to the world at first, and then later revealing the bad twists and awful truths. Misconstruing such a wish right from the beginning doesn't sound like his typical behavior. But then again, it's certainly possible that he might do such a thing so soon, as it could turn them into witches quicker...